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The Prime Minister during the Meet the Press yesterday said that the elected members, be it in their individual capacity or as a political party who is resigning on petty grounds without completing their term, is a betrayal to the sacred trust of the people who have elected to serve them.

Citing the recent examples of the resignation of the North Thimphu MP Kinga Tshering and the Dangchu gup Sonam Dorji, which left many people frustrated and deceived, Lyonchhen said that although the laws that permit them to resign cannot be changed, it is a great failure on their part to carry out their promised responsibilities.

He also gave the example of the resignation of the former DPT President from the Naning-Shumar seat costing the government around 25.4 lakhs. Lyonchhen said that some people seem to join politics only to be on the winning side or to form the government.

He alleged that in 2013 the entire DPT nearly resigned except that they did not complete the full tenure to get their benefits.

“When the elected members resign before the completion of their tenure, they are defaulting on the trust of the people. And second is we cannot afford to waste money in this manner. Such acts undermine the faith and vision of our democracy,” said Lyonchhen.

Lyonchhen pointed out that the Bye-election for the post of MP for North Thimphu and a gup for Dangchu Gewog has cost the government around Nu. 27.5 lakhs and 2.4 lakhs respectively. He said the Bhutanese people should not tolerate such betrayal.